Mount Emerald Wind Farm RATCH-AUSTRALIA CORPORATION Socio-economic baseline and market analysis R01 | Final 29 August 2014 Mount Emerald Wind Farm Socio-economic baseline and market analysis Project Name Project no: QE06742 Document title: Mount Emerald Wind Farm Socio-economic baseline and market analysis Document no: R01 Revision: Final Date: 28 August 2014 Client name: RATCH-Australia Corporation Project manager: Annete Armstrong Author: Annete Armstrong and Paul Nidras File name: I:\QENV2\Projects\QE06742\Deliverables\Reports\Mount Emerald Wind Farm Economic Baseline_Final.docx Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (Jacobs) ABN 37 001 024 095 32 Cordelia Street PO Box 3848 South Brisbane QLD 4101 Australia T +61 7 3026 7100 F +61 7 3026 7300 www.jacobs.com COPYRIGHT: The concepts and information contained in this document are the property of Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (Jacobs). Use or copying of this document in whole or in part without the written permission of Jacobs constitutes an infringement of copyright. Document history and status Revision Date Description By Review Approved 1 28/07/2014 Project Manager review Annete First Draft 28/07/2014 Armstrong 2 29/07/2014 Technical review David Cotterill Draft 29/07/2014 3 31/07/2014 Project Director review Hunter Draft 01/08/2014 Brownscombe 5 28/08/2014 Project Manager review Annete Final 28/08/2014 Armstrong Document No. i Mount Emerald Wind Farm Socio-economic baseline and market analysis Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 Report structure ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Study area ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Method of assessment .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Policy/strategy context ............................................................................................................................. 8 3. Existing socio-economic environment ................................................................................................. 10 3.1 Regional context ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Population and demography ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Population ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.2 Family and household composition............................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2.3 Housing ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.2.4 Socio-economic indices for areas (SEIFA) ................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2.5 Personal income ........................................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.3 Workforce participation and employment...................................................................................................................................... 14 3.3.1 Labour force and employment ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 3.3.2 Industries of employment .............................................................................................................................................................. 15 3.4 Local business and industry.......................................................................................................................................................... 17 4. Market Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Renewable energy targets ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 4.2 Queensland’s large-scale renewable energy market .................................................................................................................... 20 4.3 Government policy ........................................................................................................................................................................ 22 4.4 Prospective technologies .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 4.5 Role of Queensland wind in meeting government objectives ....................................................................................................... 24 5. Summary and conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 25 6. References ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Document No. ii Mount Emerald Wind Farm Socio-economic baseline and market analysis Important note about your report The sole purpose of this report and the associated services performed by Jacobs is to provide a socio-economic baseline and market overview in accordance with the scope of services set out in the contract between Jacobs and RATCH-Australia Corporation (RATCH-Australia). That scope of services, as described in this report, was developed with RATCH-Australia. In preparing this report, Jacobs has relied upon, and presumed accurate, any information (or confirmation of the absence thereof) provided by the Client and/or from other sources. Except as otherwise stated in the report, Jacobs has not attempted to verify the accuracy or completeness of any such information. If the information is subsequently determined to be false, inaccurate or incomplete then it is possible that our observations and conclusions as expressed in this report may change. Jacobs derived the data in this report from information sourced from the Client (if any) and/or available in the public domain at the time or times outlined in this report. The passage of time, manifestation of latent conditions or impacts of future events may require further examination of the project and subsequent data analysis, and re- evaluation of the data, findings, observations and conclusions expressed in this report. Jacobs has prepared this report in accordance with the usual care and thoroughness of the consulting profession, for the sole purpose described above and by reference to applicable standards, guidelines, procedures and practices at the date of issue of this report. For the reasons outlined above, however, no other warranty or guarantee, whether expressed or implied, is made as to the data, observations and findings expressed in this report, to the extent permitted by law. This report should be read in full and no excerpts are to be taken as representative of the findings. No responsibility is accepted by Jacobs for use of any part of this report in any other context. This report has been prepared on behalf of, and for the exclusive use of, Jacobs’s Client, and is subject to, and issued in accordance with, the provisions of the contract between Jacobs and the Client. Jacobs accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for, or in respect of, any use of, or reliance upon, this report by any third party Document No. Mount Emerald Wind Farm Socio-economic baseline and market analysis 1. Introduction RATCH-Australia Corporation (RATCH-Australia) is proposing to develop the Mount Emerald Windfarm (the project). The project will involve the construction of approximately 63 wind turbines on a rough plateau near Mount Emerald west of the Kennedy Highway between Atherton and Mareeba in Far North Queensland. A development application for the project was made to Tablelands Regional Council (now Mareeba Shire Council) in March 2012. On 11 June 2014, the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning called in the development application for the project and issued an Information Request under Section 276 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA). This report responds to question one and two of that Information Request, namely: 1) Provide a brief overview and context for this development within the broader Far North Queensland region and local (Mareeba Shire/Tablelands) economy, identifying key industries and employment, unemployment rates, basic socio-economic characteristics of its people or households and population growth projections.